Location: Le Crocodile   
100-909 Burrard Street, Vancouver BC
Phone: 604.669.4298
Website

Author: My Husband

In Vancouver, the revolving door that is the local restaurant scene ensures that foodies will always have a steady stream of new eateries and cuisines to try. The flip side is that no restaurants are safe. Even Rob Feenie’s critically acclaimed Lumiere all but disappeared except in name, illustrating only too well that Vancouverites are mighty fickle when it comes to eating out. So when a local restaurant – one established 25 years ago – is not only still in business, but actually going from strength to strength, both wannabe restaurateurs and diners alike should sit up and take notice.

That restaurant is none other than Le Crocodile. It doesn’t get as much attention in blogs or the media as newer restaurants, but it probably doesn’t need the publicity as much. Some have called Le Croc the best French restaurant in Vancouver, and others have pronounced it one of the best in Canada! But for me, I’ll always remember it as the place where I had my first “proper” French meal. Unsurprisingly, over the years it has also become Christina’s and my favorite restaurant for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions.

The first meal I had at Le Croc – Alsatian Onion Tart and Veal Osso Bucco – saw me coming away with good impressions of both the food and service. And on subsequent visits, those initial impressions were steadily reinforced. For me and many others, it is the unwavering consistency in both food and service that keeps us coming back again and again. In fact, my wife and I have a little tradition where we – just the two of us – have a quiet dinner at Le Croc several days before Christmas each year, allowing us to have some alone time before the crush of celebrations and dinners with friends and family.

This year was no exception. We caught a break between Vancouver snowstorms and braved the drive downtown, gingerly threading the car through side streets piled high with dirty snow to avoid losing what little traction was available. Amazingly, we made it to the restaurant on time. We were even more amazed to see most of the tables occupied (it was a Monday night, with lots of snow still on the ground). Nevertheless, we were quickly shown to a two-top by the window, a table that I had requested when making the reservation. The restaurant felt as comfortable as always, and the lively buzz quickly put paid to any notions that this was your formal and stuffy French affair. An interesting observation I made – one that highlighted the difference between the sexes in sub-zero temperatures – was that most of the women were dressed to the nines, and most of the men were dressed casually. So depending on your point of view, men are either really practical or they are wusses…

Le Croc has a long list of specials every day, but by tradition, these weren’t written on paper. Instead, our waiter recited the specials to us verbatim; as was often the case, we could only recall a couple of the things he said, but since we had already decided to order from the menu, it wasn’t a big deal. That night, I chose to start with roasted beef bones and Christina had the foie gras.

Before the starters arrived, we were presented with complimentary amuse bouches from the chef – a tart filled with a savory custard made with eggs and foie.

This was very nicely done, and the taste/texture can be likened to that of a savory HK egg custard tart.

My starter, served with crostinis, looked great. Not having had marrow before at Le Croc, I was hoping for something similar to the dish I had at Au Pied de Cochon. Le Croc’s version tasted a little burnt, and did not have as much marrow as I would like. I was later told by the hostess that I could have requested it done any way I like; if I were to choose this again in the future, I would ask for it with just salt/pepper sans breadcrumb.

Christina’s foie gras was one of the specials recited by our waiter. In all the years we’d been going to Le Croc, the foie gras has never been a menu item; yet it was always available as a daily special. And in all the years we’d been going to Le Croc, Christina would scan the menu and furrow her brows trying to decide on a starter; yet she would always end up getting the foie gras. Talk about unbreakable traditions…

Here’s the actual slice of liver. We’ve definitely noticed price inflation taking a firm hold here. While pricing for this dish has been held pretty constant, portion sizes have decreased over the years. What hasn’t changed is the taste – the balsamic reduction and cantaloupe perfectly complemented the sweet, unctuous, and perfectly seared foie. We would never think of asking chef to change the preparation of this dish.

My main course was a pappardelle served with braised veal cheeks. These were the most tender pieces of meat, bar none, that I’ve ever had. The flat, broad pasta was perfect for soaking up the sauce, made with reducing pinot noir with veal stock and infused with truffle oil.

Christina had the double-cut veal chop. We both thought it was cooked beyond the medium rare that Christina ordered, but it wasn’t too overdone, so we thought we’d just leave it be. When our waiter came around, he noticed Christina having some difficulty cutting through the chop and offered to have it redone. We declined as we didn’t want to wait 15 mins for a new plate. Taste wise, Christina liked it, but I thought it was a little too acidic. But since I have an aversion to overly acidic cream sauces, it may just have been me.

Our waiter brought the doneness issue to the kitchen’s attention anyway, and chef was gracious enough to send out a small veal steak, along with a copious amount of morel cream sauce, so that we could sample how the kitchen did medium rare. It was very good, I must say.

Both main courses were served with fries. Christina had the regular, which were great, and I had the shoestring, which were fantastic. Many French restaurants claim to do shoestring fries, but we have found Le Croc’s to be the best. They were super crunchy from first bite to last.

The wine accompanying this dinner was a 2003 Chateau d’Argadens. Strong notes of cherries, with more than a hint of oak. I was expecting it to be very tannic, but was pleasantly surprised to find that fruit, tannin, and acidity were quite well balanced. It was an easy to drink wine, and is available @ the LDB for $21.99. Not bad value, and imho better than other budget Bordeauxs like the Mouton Cadet.

Before dessert, we were given green apple sorbet as a palette cleanser.

After the sorbet, we were already very full. But we both wanted to end the meal on a sweet note, so we ordered chocolate covered crepes with hazelnut cream filling to share. These were scrumptious, and even Christina, who doesn’t usually like desserts, had her fair share.

And finally, we were presented with these chocolate crocodiles – two dark and two milk. It’s a nice Le Croc tradition that has been observed all these years, and a lovely finish to yet another great meal.

Le Crocodile is one of the restaurants that we look forward to eating at, and which never fails to put smiles on our faces. There certainly are more inexpensive eateries in Vancouver serving French food, but none of them really compares with Le Croc in terms of food sophistication, ambiance, and service. That’s the reason why it’s been around for 25 years, and if chef Michel is willing, it will easily be around for 25 more.

And finally, before signing off, Christina and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2009!!